Alba rests, Dest starts in a 4-3-3: How Barcelona could line up against Rayo

Following the winter signings of Ferran Torres, Dani Alves, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and dama Traore, Xavi and co. were steam rolling past their opponents, scoring four each against Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Napoli, Real Madrid, and more.

April, however, has not been kind to Barcelona.

The Blaugranes left for the international break following an incredible performance vs Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, but came back looking like strangers.

They just scraped past Sevilla at the Camp Nou before edging a draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, and win against Levante. The team was evidently not as sharp as before, and eventually crumbled against Frankfurt in the Europa League and Cadiz in La Liga.

While it looked like they had put the demoralising defeat behind them vs Real Sociedad, the Basque outfit played them out of the park for 90 minutes. They were able to leave the Reale Arena with all three points, courtesy Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Gerard Pique.

Looking ahead, Barça have a relatively easier detour with games against Rayo Vallecano and RCD Mallorca at the Camp Nou.

The former is the game in hand the Catalans have had in the back of their pockets for over ten gameweeks. However, it comes just three days after their Sociedad clash, and Xavi has to alter the lineup accordingly.

For weeks, fans have predicted rotations to the starting XI, but tomorrow might finally be the time we see more involvement from bench players, especially from kick-off.

The Starters

Let’s put the obvious out of the way – Marc-Andre ter Stegen has improved his form under Xavi, and is the undisputed start in goal for Barcelona. Should he be able to replicate his performance from midweek, the hosts can attack without much thought.

At the back, there are doubts over Gerard Pique’s involvement tomorrow. The Spaniard was excellent in the last game, but has trained alone today owing to an injury relapse scare.

He will likely be replaced by Eric Garcia, who has had a mixed bad of performances in the recent weeks. He gave away two penalties vs Frankfurt and Levante, but was excellent otherwise. In the Sociedad game as well, he was lucky to not get a penalty awarded against him.

We expect Ronald Araujo to be partnering him in the heart of the defence. The Uruguayan was subbed off vs La Real with a knee injury, but was given the medical green light in an official statement released yesterday.

Jordi Alba has been playing non-stop, and must be rested before he, too, picks up an injury. Sergino Dest should come in to replace him at left-back, while Dani Alves is expected to retain his spot on the right despite the injury.

At 33, Sergio Busquets’ game time must be altered accordingly. He will, in all probability, be replaced by Frenkie de Jong in defensive midfield. The Dutchman midfielder is not a like-for-like replacement, but should be able to plug the gap for one game.

La Masia duo Nico Gonzalez and Gavi are expected to take up the central midfield spots. The former has not been given enough time recently, but could get the nod tomorrow. He must take whatever chances come his way.

The final part of the lineup is the attacking trident. Ousmane Dembele has been run ragged by Xavi in the last few weeks, and should be replaced for this midweek game. Adama Traore will likely take his place on the right-wing.

Ferran Torres has played a bizarre 620 minutes since the international break ended, and is evidently suffering from fatigue. He should be replaced by Memphis Depay on the left wing, who offers a bucket of creativity.

The final piece of the puzzle will likely be Luuk de Jong. The Dutchman has impacted games in significant ways this year, and definitely deserves this one start over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Predicted Barça XI:

Memphis · Luuk · Adama
Gavi · de Jong · Nico
Dest · Eric · Araujo · Alves
ter Stegen

The Substitutes

With Pedri injured, it would not be farfetched to see Riqui Puig get some time on the green of the Camp Nou. He scored a goal in his previous game against Osasuna, and should be motivated for this clash as well.

It would be farfetched to expect Luuk to play all 90 minutes of this game, and hence, one of Aubameyang or Torres could be brought on to add more depth to the offensive line.

Alba is a crucial peg in Xavi’s system, and if he does not start on Sunday, he will almost definitely come off the bench.

Clement Lenglet was solid against Real Sociedad; he came on Gerard Pique to play 18 minutes and closed the game wonderfully with three clearances and a tackle.